Author Topic: What have you fettled today? (Read 2187056 times)

SoreTween · « **Reply #15350 on:** 07 November, 2020, 08:26:13 pm »

Unfettled the comb/guard thingumacrap from the hedge attachment of my log reach multitool. I figured if an ordinary hedge trimmer with your hand 4" from the jiggly bits doesn't need a comb why does one where your hand is at least 2' to 4' from getting messy. Machine transformed, last hedge of the season finished in double quick time.

rafletcher · « **Reply #15351 on:** 08 November, 2020, 04:25:28 pm »

I swapped out the ANT+ Garmin cadence sensors for the newer ANT+ / BLE ones on two of my bikes (the other already has a Bontrager Duotap) which will allow me to use a larger range of online apps and trainers. Added them to the Garmin computers I have. Then I swapped out the battery “doors” on a pair of Garmin Vector 3 pedals, and (after some f*ucking divvery described elsewhere) fitted them to the soot bike currently mounted on the turbo. Haven’t tested them out yet, thought I’d quit whilst I was ahead.

Removed the SPD-SL cleats from a pair of Lake CX161 shoes I got cheap, to fit my preferred Looks, again for use on the turbo. Pumped up various tyres.

T42 · « **Reply #15352 on:** 08 November, 2020, 04:48:02 pm »

Realized that under lockdown + curfew rules I'm not likely to be riding after dark, so swapped out my dynamo wheel for a normal one, thus putting off having to fix the slow p******e in the dynamo wheel.

hellymedic · « **Reply #15353 on:** 08 November, 2020, 10:14:21 pm »

D knocked his bike onto its side when installing that Cat 6 cabling.

Found posh B&M light with SON dynamo were not putting out light and lamp was cracked. Found connector had come out from inside lamp reconnected this and glued lamp.

I'm relieved. These things ain't cheap!

Kim · « **Reply #15354 on:** 09 November, 2020, 12:16:56 am »

It was pish, so I didn't ride my bike. I stayed at home and wrote software for timing cycle races instead. Which is sort of virtual cycling by proxy, or something. With semicolons.

Sadly Strava doesn't have a category for that any more than it does for getting the other kind of exercise from a bicycle.

rafletcher · « **Reply #15355 on:** 09 November, 2020, 07:21:27 pm »

A simple fettle, a 2into1 hdmi switch so it’s easy to swap between the new Manhattan PVR and the old(er) Humax PVR so we can still watch the recordings we have stored on the latter, until such time as I do a reset and reformat and either consign it to the loft or, more likely sell it as, should the Manhattan crap out we can watch catchup from the tv apps.

quixoticgeek · « **Reply #15356 on:** 09 November, 2020, 10:58:10 pm »

Replaced the filter element in my air filter, and gave the rest of the unit a good clean. I had been wondering how effective it was at filtering out dust in the air, my first thought was well if nothing else it's doing very well at collecting dust around the intakes, but after vacuuming them, then taking the lid off, it's fair to say, it's pulled a fair bit out. It's also fair to say I should probably replace the filter more often. On the plus side, I read the manual today, and realised the little blue light on the top that's been lit for at least the last year... is a filter change indicator...

J

Kim · « **Reply #15357 on:** 10 November, 2020, 12:01:43 am »

Device for filtering dust out of the air with a blue light on the top? Sounds like my desktop...

The Family Cyclist · « **Reply #15358 on:** 11 November, 2020, 08:58:28 pm »

Having previously worked in agriculture supply (so could get stuff cheap) and spending a fair bit of time in them gardening/going to chickens in garden/ muddy walks with kids and since Saturday dog walking I tend to buy decent and therfore relatively expensive wellies. My ones are pretty worn out after probably 6 years of use. Maybe more. Not wanting to spend £100 on a new pair at the moment (I said relatively expensive. Used to regularly sell pairs for around £300) but also fed up with the heels rubbing as have rubbed through the neoprene and finding the boot socks that are kinda pop sock length are hard to get now I glued two of my big puncture patches in the heels. Quick walk with the dog tonight and they feel better

Kim · « **Reply #15359 on:** 12 November, 2020, 08:19:07 pm »

Replaced both headsets' bearings and the track rod ends on barakta's trike. Adjusted the tracking. Needs tyres re-fitting and a ride round the block before re-adjusting the headsets.

Weirdly, the wheel which was lying flat across the seat after I dismantled one of the headsets to identify the bearings a couple of weeks ago had a flat tyre.

I've no idea either. But I think it beats a front wheel puncture on a turbo trainer...

The Family Cyclist · « **Reply #15360 on:** 13 November, 2020, 12:24:31 pm »

That's because you tipped the wheel up and all the air fell out the top silly

Kim · « **Reply #15361 on:** 13 November, 2020, 01:05:52 pm »

Further investigation confirms that this is indeed the case: Intermittent angle-sensitive leak at the base of the valve stem.

Big Apples re-fitted and mudguards adjusted accordingly. (It was wearing Kojaks for racing.)

FifeingEejit · « **Reply #15362 on:** 13 November, 2020, 07:35:45 pm »

Switched the turbo bike over from its original 7 speed bits to the 10 speed bits I took off another bike, so I can use the 52-48 crankset I accidentally purchased on ebay at what I thought was a bargain price.

Front shifting a bit duff as the limit screws are seized in the wrong place but with a 48-30 do I really need 52-12 on a turbo?

This also means I have no more excuses for sloth, bugger.

Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk

T42 · « **Reply #15363 on:** 14 November, 2020, 09:17:14 am »

Removed sticky semi-charred tracing-paper gunge from my laser printer.

Nah, not really.

zigzag · « **Reply #15364 on:** 14 November, 2020, 01:07:12 pm »

Quote from: zigzag on 02 April, 2020, 02:06:25 pm

these both methods could work, i'd go very carefully not to do too much too quickly. my idea was to make a piston out of cylindrical foam and sanding paper glued around it.
low priority job, so haven't got round to it.

(following from another thread) so, regarding the undersized seat tube, finally got round to it and sorted it out. made a sand paper plunger and got stroking, while washing and measuring the hole every so often

i suspect the culprit was lacquer inside; paint shop have not masked the seat tube hole.

job's a good'un!

rafletcher · « **Reply #15365 on:** 14 November, 2020, 01:50:56 pm »

Replaced the bottle cage I ham-fistedly snapped. Well, both cages because my OCD won’t tolerate 2 different ones on the same bike, and I couldn’t find a like-for-like replacement. And because prices have dropped for cf cages I’ll probably be stuck with the odd one as it won’t be worth selling given the postage.

Refitted the chain set to my Domane, having had a Taiwanese copy of a P2M power meter fitted, and set it up.

Oh, and made the Christmas cake (really just Delia’s rich fruit cake with added brandy feeding). House smelling nice.

MattH · « **Reply #15366 on:** 14 November, 2020, 05:39:08 pm »

The downstairs loo cistern stopped filling properly this afternoon. Gained some brownie points from MrsH by quickly fixing it - the problem turned out to be a small hole in the Siamp fill valve diaphragm. So I pulled a spare out of my parts bin and had it sorted in a couple of minutes.

Why is it that all modern stuff is built so badly? I had a spare because these things are thin rubber, and I've now had three fail since we moved into this house in 2012 so I bought a few; every loo has had at least that replaced, I've also had to replace a couple of flush valves and one entire fill valve. Old school ball cock float valves seemed to work forever, at the minimal downside that you could them filling after the flush.

Socks · « **Reply #15367 on:** 14 November, 2020, 05:48:46 pm »

Quote from: MattH on 14 November, 2020, 05:39:08 pm

Why is it that all modern stuff is built so badly? I had a spare because these things are thin rubber, and I've now had three fail since we moved into this house in 2012 so I bought a few; every loo has had at least that replaced, I've also had to replace a couple of flush valves and one entire fill valve. Old school ball cock float valves seemed to work forever, at the minimal downside that you could them filling after the flush.

Modern stuff built so badly? Because standards have been reduced, most people in the UK are worse off than they were 10 years ago. And short term consumerism means instant gratification rather than taking the long term view. For what it's worth that's my analysis. I used to believe the general opinion that things would get better across each generation. Hard to maintain that viewpoint nowadays.

LittleWheelsandBig · « **Reply #15368 on:** 14 November, 2020, 09:23:48 pm »

Replaced the standard tubes in HK’s foul-weather commuter MTB with goopy tubes, as requested. Swapped out the clapped-out Elite plastic/ aluminium bidon cage (hot pink and black-splatter powder coated, now mostly corroded bare Al) for a cheap SS cage.

Replaced the worn-out chain and condemned the unreliable Cyo Senso. It appears to have some issue related to moving the switch (including a nasty rattle) but reliability is paramount with a bike that spends so much time in darkness and rain. A replacement non-Cyo 70 lux headlight is already on the way. Tightened the loose hanger bolt on the Suntour ARX rear mech that is locked into position as a chain tensioner.

The Surly 34t SS chainring is finally starting to show very minor wear (wide/narrow-alike) after 7-8 years of abuse. The previous cheap Al chainring barely lasted a winter. Would buy SS again for a similar single chainring bike.

zigzag · « **Reply #15369 on:** 14 November, 2020, 09:35:08 pm »

using the idea from this thread, managed to budge a stuck seatpost on a vintage bike of doom*. walked around the neighbourhood with a frameset in my hands looking for a suitable drain cover, found one, put the seatpost in, yanked vigorously few times and it emitted a creak of release! it is still stuck, but not totally welded as before, so will keep dripping plus gas for few days and try it once more. i didn't want to use the caustic soda method just yet!

*assembled dry many years ago, everything overtorqued, seized, stuck.. but just about nice enough to deserve some tlc.

phantasmagoriana · « **Reply #15370 on:** 15 November, 2020, 11:43:44 am »

Not really fettling, but it's a rainy day so I've decided to catalogue my (rather disorganised) sheet music collection.

On signing up for a Libib account, I discovered that not only did I already have an account, but I'd already started cataloguing my sheet music a couple of years ago! I'd also downloaded the app to my phone and had totally forgotten about this, too. This means I don't have quite so much to enter.

LittleWheelsandBig · « **Reply #15371 on:** 15 November, 2020, 02:51:01 pm »

Replaced the worn and soft springs in HK’s Keo Blade pedals with a stronger set. Might look into replacing the bearings too.

rafletcher · « **Reply #15372 on:** 15 November, 2020, 03:27:34 pm »

Lubed the chain on the Genesis Equilibrium after this morning fun splash about in the lanes of leafy Bucks. Pumped up the front tyre on the turbo bike, and increased the release tension on the Vector 3 pedals a notch.

Raked out the “ditch” I’ve dug from the depression behind our shed into the adjacent field (thankfully lower) to allow the prodigious overnight rain to escape without flooding our garden. Nailed up the bird box ready for the blue tits next spring.

zigzag · « **Reply #15373 on:** 15 November, 2020, 10:26:09 pm »

after unsuccessfully trying to remove stuck seatpost by twisting it in a vice (or a drain cover), hoped that hacksaw method would be the next option. hacksawed the top part only to see that the walls are very thick and the hole is too small to fit the blade.. caustic soda next?

citoyen · « **Reply #15374 on:** 15 November, 2020, 10:46:58 pm »

Quote from: zigzag on 15 November, 2020, 10:26:09 pm

the walls are very thick

You're not wrong there!

Get that out and you'll probably halve the overall weight of the bike.